Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane has told the high court that his esteem in society has been compromised by EFF leader Julius Malema’s false claims that he stole a master’s degree from the University of Fort Hare.
Consequent to Malema’s statement, Mabuyane continues, reasonable and “right-thinking” members of the public now hate him because they believe he engages in fraud and theft of educational qualifications.
This complaint is contained in Mabuyane’s founding affidavit in the “urgent” defamation lawsuit that he launched against Malema on Thursday night at the KuGompo City High Court.
Mabuyane wants the court to force the former ANC Youth League president to retract his statement and be barred from ever making similar claims.
The launching of the lawsuit was a move to call Malema’s bluff after on Wednesday he told Mabuyane to go fly a kite and threatened to join President Cyril Ramaphosa should he elect to go to court.
Mabuyane writes that allowing Malema’s “false” public statements to go unchallenged would have far-reaching consequences on his reputation.
The genesis of the lawsuit is statements Malema made outside the KuGompo City Magistrate’s Court recently following his five-year sentencing for
contravention of the Firearms Control Act.
On the day, while addressing thousands of his supporters gathered outside court, he said: “So we want to say to the police, you are here in your numbers, in your uniform, and you took an oath not to take illegal instruction, but you are here on illegal instruction because you are not supposed to be here; you are supposed to be in the office of Oscar Mabuyane because he stole a master’s at Fort Hare.”
Mabuyane is adamant that this is factually false and was intended to malign his good name in society.
“This statement has generally lowered my esteem among the right-thinking members of society. It has also exposed me to hatred, contempt, and ridicule, as members of the public might believe that I do not have a basic degree and was involved in stealing a qualification,” writes Mabuyane.
“Mr Malema’s statements are false in two material respects. First, I do not hold and have never claimed to hold a master’s degree from the University of Fort Hare. I was not awarded the degree, and I was deregistered before completion. Second, I did not steal, fraudulently obtain, or procure any qualification by improper means.
“Mr Malema’s statements to a large public audience, in the presence of national media, impute to me the commission of a criminal offence. It is not a statement of opinion grounded in disclosed facts. It is a bare, reckless factual allegation. Mr Malema cannot avail himself of the defences of fair comment or truth and public interest.
“The allegations are not true, and no honest person in possession of the available facts could reasonably have stated them as fact.”
Mabuyane adds that he took the extraordinary measures of seeking the court’s intervention because the latest statements were not the first of the same nature by Malema.
He references another statement Malema made in the EFF’s last press conference at the party’s headquarters, where he specifically named Mabuyane as part of a scheme of politicians who received “suspicious degrees” from Fort Hare.
According to Mabuyane, Malema’s statements fall to be declared defamatory because they not only malign his name but also suggest criminal conduct, thus bringing his fitness to hold public office as premier into question.
“The defamatory character of the allegations is beyond serious dispute. An allegation that an incumbent premier and public representative stole an academic qualification imputes dishonesty, fraud, and criminal conduct.
“It strikes directly at my fitness for public office and my integrity as a person.
“False allegations of fraud, theft, and corruption are among the most serious and egregious claims one person can make against another. Corrupt people are loathed in societies.”
Mabuyane also prayed that the court clobbers Malema with a punitive costs order on an attorney-client scale, including the costs of two counsel.
- Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane has filed an urgent defamation lawsuit against EFF leader Julius Malema for falsely accusing him of stealing a master’s degree from the University of Fort Hare.
- Mabuyane states Malema’s claims have damaged his reputation, causing hatred and ridicule among the public who believe he engaged in academic fraud.
- Malema had publicly accused Mabuyane of stealing a degree during a speech to supporters outside the KuGompo City Magistrate’s Court following Malema’s firearms-related sentencing.
- Mabuyane denies holding or stealing any such degree, asserts the allegations are factually false, and says Malema’s statements seriously impugn his integrity and fitness for public office.
- Mabuyane seeks a court order for Malema to retract the claims permanently and requests punitive costs covering legal fees.
